Take a drive in the V8 VelociRaptor with John Hennessey

Words: Nile Bijoux

11 Jan 2019

The V8-powered Hennessey VelociRaptor is proving to be quite popular - who knew fans of trucks liked angry V8s?

Hennessey’s tuned F-150 looks almost stock on the outside, with a 203mm increase in ride height the biggest aesthetic change. There are also 37-inch tyres
wrapped around 20-inch wheels which hide red Brembo calipers. VelociRaptor branding is dotted around the truck.

Of course, the sound of a supercharged V8 is an instant giveaway, and this one certainly doesn’t try and hide thanks to a stainless steel cat-back exhaust.
Power is a healthy 415KW at the wheels, and Hennessey reckons a different wheel and tyre combination could free up as much as 30kW. The ten-speed automatic
from a V8-powered F-150 is used instead of the standard Raptor gearbox, which Hennessey describes as “crankin’” in the video above.

However, there are a couple of downsides. One is that the wait list is already quite long, with an estimated delivery date of May if you were to order
right now. The other is that the total cost of the VelociRaptor is around $US150,000, depending on options.

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